Elena Ar

I worked in education in Russia, but mostly on the operations and project management side rather than instructional design. I always wanted to move closer to designing learning programs, but my responsibilities were operational.

I realised that if I didn't make the leap now, I would probably remain in operations forever. Moving to the Netherlands gave me an opportunity to make that transition through education. Finding a job directly from Moscow felt impossible — my English wasn't strong enough, I had never lived abroad, and interviewing in English felt incredibly far beyond my reach.

“A master's degree became a bridge into a new professional reality.”

The Netherlands won for a very practical reason: it was the only master's program I found that offered a pre-master's pathway. That meant I could move from my background into the master's without doing another bachelor's first.

I didn't get a full scholarship, but the university recognised both my academic record and the extra credits from studying at two Russian universities. They offered me a tuition discount and waived some course requirements.

English. Without question. I dedicated about a year to it: devices, TV shows, learning materials, my whole daily environment switched to English. I tried to eliminate as much Russian-language content as possible.

I took Academic IELTS on February 24, 2022. I remember very little about that day — only a feeling of complete darkness inside. But I still went and took the test. I scored exactly the minimum the university required: 6.5.

A teacher who refused to switch to Russian helped tremendously. I asked her many times — she always said no. I also used Magoosh, which prepares students for IELTS, TOEFL and GMAT.

My strategy was simple: find at least three relevant vacancies every day and submit applications to three or four positions every week. Ironically, the offer eventually came from one of the very first positions I applied for — but the hiring process lasted nearly three months, so I couldn't afford to stop applying.

From my experience, Learning & Development is highly open to international professionals. Many L&D specialists here are expats, and relevant academic qualifications are valued because many people entered the field through internal progression rather than formal education.

Six interviews: HR screening, a second HR call with two specialists, the hiring manager, an assessment task and presentation, a psychological assessment with a debrief, and finally an in-person meeting with the manager and a future colleague.

After the final interview I waited a week for the answer. Friday came. The workday ended. Nobody called. We had travelled from Germany to the Netherlands for the interview, and my husband had even booked me a hotel in a quieter neighbourhood so I could sleep. That evening, I got on my bike and rode about 60 kilometres into the countryside. I was crying, convinced the whole process had led nowhere.

“Well, that bike ride was unnecessary. Go buy yourself a bottle of wine.”

Then, around seven in the evening, an unfamiliar number called. I answered. They told me they wanted to make me an offer. I was standing in the middle of a field, in tears, next to my bicycle, trying to understand what was happening.

For every application I adjusted wording, action verbs and emphasis to align with what the company was looking for. I don't know exactly how much it influences algorithms, but careful customisation helps.

For my offer company I designed my resume as a 'User Manual for Me.' When I came up with the idea, I felt so embarrassed I almost didn't submit it. My husband sat me down a few hours before the deadline and said: 'Send it.' As it turned out, that was exactly what the company remembered most.

“Sometimes the thing you're most self-conscious about is exactly what makes you memorable.”

I'm an anxious person, and that period amplified it. Running helped — I needed somewhere to channel the nervous energy. Treating the job search like a job helped too: dedicated time, concrete actions, instead of constant chaos.

I started collecting rejections. I applied to highly competitive companies and thought: 'Great, another rejection for the spreadsheet.' I learned that I'm scared of many things — and that I don't give up, even when I'm scared.

Two pieces of advice from my husband made all the difference: treat job searching like a job, and prepare your STAR(L) stories in advance. You can't reinvent yourself in every interview. It helps enormously to map out your experiences beforehand — difficult situations, mistakes, conflicts, achievements. Not perfect stories. Real, human ones.